International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
|type = |authority = United Nations Security Council Resolution 827 |appeals = |terms = Four years |positions = 16 permanent 12 ad litem |website = http://www.icty.org/ |chiefjudgetitle = President |chiefjudgename = Patrick Lipton Robinson ( Jamaica) |termstart = 17 November 2008 |termend = |termend2 = 2010 }} The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a body of the United Nations (UN) established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and to try their alleged perpetrators. The tribunal is an ad-hoc court which is located in The Hague, the Netherlands. It was originally proposed by German Foreign Minister Klaus KinkelHazan, Pierre. 2004. Justice in a Time of War: The True Story Behind the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. College Station: Texas A & M University Press and established by Resolution 827 of the United Nations Security Council, which was passed on May 25, 1993. It has jurisdiction over four clusters of crime committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crime against humanity. It can try only individuals, not organizations or governments. The maximum sentence it can impose is life imprisonment. Various countries have signed agreements with the UN to carry out custodial sentences. The last indictment was issued March 15, 2004. The Tribunal aims to complete all trials by the end of 2009 and all appeals by 2010. The ICTY should not be confused with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice; both courts are also based in The Hague, but have a permanent status and different jurisdictions. Organization The Tribunal employs around 1,200 staff. Its organisational components are Chambers, Registry and the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP). Chambers encompasses the judges and their aides. The Tribunal operates three Trial Chambers and one Appeals Chamber. The President of the Tribunal is also the presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber. Currently, this is Patrick Lipton Robinson of Jamaica (since 2008). His predecessors were Antonio Cassese of Italy (1993–1997), Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the United States (1997–1999), Claude Jorda of France (1999–2002), Theodor Meron of the United States (2002–2005), Fausto Pocar of Italy (2005-2008). The Registry is responsible for handling the administration of the Tribunal; activities include keeping court records, translating court documents, transporting and accommodating those who appear to testify, operating the Public Information Section, and such general duties as payroll administration, personnel management and procurement. It is also responsible for the Detention Unit for indictees being held during their trial and the Legal Aid program for indictees who cannot pay for their own defence. It is headed by the Registrar, currently John Hocking of Australia (since May 2009). His predecessors were Hans Holthuis of the Netherlands (2001–2009), Dorothée de Sampayo Garrido-Nijgh of the Netherlands (1995–2000), and Theo van Boven of the Netherlands (February 1994 to December 1994). The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is responsible for investigating crimes, gathering evidence and prosecuting indictees. It is headed by the Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz. Previous Prosecutors have been Ramón Escovar Salom of Venezuela (1993–1994), Richard Goldstone of South Africa (1994–1996), Louise Arbour of Canada (1996–1999) and Carla Del Ponte of Switzerland (1999–2007), who until 2003, simultaneously served as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda where she led the OTP since 1999. Judges There are 16 permanent judges and 12 ad litem judges who serve on the tribunal. They are elected to four-year terms by the UN General Assembly. They can be re-elected. On 17 November 2008, Judge Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) was elected as the new President of the ICTY by the permanent judges in an Extraordinary Plenary Session. Judge O-Gon Kwon (South Korea) was elected as the new Vice-President.Judge Robinson elected new ICTY President from Hague Justice Portal List of judges provided on Organs of the Tribunal at: http://www.icty.org/sid/151 Accomplishments In 2004, the ICTY published a list of five successes which it claimed it had accomplished: 'The Tribunal's Accomplishments in Justice and Law' http://www.icty.org/x/file/Outreach/view_from_hague/jit_accomplishments_en.pdf #"Spearheading the shift from impunity to accountability", pointing out that, until very recently, it was the only court judging crimes committed as part of the Yugoslav conflict, since prosecutors in the former Yugoslavia were, as a rule, reluctant to prosecute such crimes; #"Establishing the facts", highlighting the extensive evidence-gathering and lengthy findings of fact that Tribunal judgments produced; #"Bringing justice to thousands of victims and giving them a voice", pointing out the large number of witnesses that had been brought before the Tribunal; #"The accomplishments in international law", describing the fleshing out of several international criminal law concepts which had not been ruled on since the Nuremberg Trials; #"Strengthening the Rule of Law", referring to the Tribunal's role in promoting the use of international standards in war crimes prosecutions by former Yugoslav republics. For more information see: ICTY at a glance Criticism Criticisms levelled against the court include: Practicality * Two key indictees are still not apprehended, which reflects badly on its image. Defenders point out that the Tribunal has no powers of arrest, and is reliant on other agencies (notably national governments, EUFOR, and KFOR) to apprehend and extradite indictees. * The Tribunal's power to issue secret indictments creates uncertainty among people who regard themselves as possible indictees, which places an unreasonable strain on their ability to proceed with their everyday lives, both in the short and long term. * Critics have questioned whether the Tribunal exacerbates tensions rather than promotes reconciliation, as is claimed by Tribunal supporters. Polls show a generally negative reaction to the Tribunal among the Serb and Croat public. The majority of Croats and Serbs doubt the tribunal's integrity and question the tenability of its legal procedures (although the Serbian and Croatian opinions on the court are almost always exactly the opposite with regard to the cases that involve both parties). Kosovo Albanians and Bosnian Muslims, on the other hand, have expressed their high regard for the court and the trust in its impartiality though these feelings change when their own individuals stand accused of atrocities against opponents. * Critics, even within the United Nations, have complained of the Tribunal's high cost. The two-year budget for the Tribunal for 2004 and 2005 was $271,854,600 (currently $ }} million) . The cost is borne by all U.N. members. * Critics have also complained of the length of trials, with some extending for several years. Supporters of the Tribunal respond that many of the defendants are charged with multiple crimes against many victims, all of which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, thus requiring long trials. Simultaneous translation also slows trials. Ethical issues * It was established by the UN Security Council instead of the UN General Assembly. Milošević's claim that the court has no legal authority rested on the distinction that, as a result, it had not been created on a broad international basis. The Tribunal was established on the basis of Chapter VII of the UN Charter; the relevant portion of the Charter reads "the Security Council can take measures to maintain or restore international peace and security". It is disputed whether a tribunal could be considered a measure to maintain or restore international peace and security. The suggestion to utilize Chapter VII was initially made in a report from the Secretary-General to the Security Council. The legal criticism has been succinctly stated in a Memorandum issued by Austrian Professor Hans Köchler, which was submitted to the President of the Security Council in 1999. * Some three-quarters of indictees thus far have been Serbs or Montenegrins, to the extent that a sizeable portion of the Bosnian Serb and Serbian political and military leaderships have been indicted, while there have been far fewer indictments resulting from crimes committed against Serbs. Among Croat indictees, most have been charged for crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims. Critics of the tribunal have seen this as reflecting bias, while the tribunal's defenders have seen this as indicative of the actual proportion of crimes committed. * The Serbian (and Montenegrin) indictees are of higher rank than those of other nations and face broader accusations. Although it was reported that had Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović lived, that they too may have been indicted, the statements came disconcertingly late since their deaths (1999 and 2003 respectively) happened long after the last of their actions (1995). Critics believe that the posthumous accusations were a symbolic gesture so as to appear neutral when in actual fact the court had no intention of trying the individuals when they were alive; yet many Serbs had been appearing in the trial chambers during those years. In addition, whilst Slobodan Milošević was in power (until 2000), there was very little interest by the court to investigate any atrocities against Serbs. * NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said the following about the court: :NATO countries are those that have provided the finance to set up the Tribunal, we are amongst the majority financiers, and of course to build a second chamber so that prosecutions can be speeded up so let me assure that we and the Tribunal are all one on this, we want to see war criminals brought to justice and I am certain that when Justice Arbour goes to Kosovo and looks at the facts she will be indicting people of Yugoslav nationality (meaning: all citizens of former Yugoslavia) and I don't anticipate any others at this stage. * British Conservative Party MEP Daniel Hannan has called for the court to be abolished, claiming that it is anti-democratic and a violation of national sovereignty. Indictees Since the very first hearing (referral request in the Tadić case) on 8 November, 1994, the Tribunal has indicted a total of 161 individuals, and has already completed proceedings with regard to 100 of them: five have been acquitted, 48 sentenced (seven are awaiting transfer, 24 have been transferred, 16 have served their term, and one died while serving his sentence), 11 have had their cases transferred to local courts. Another 36 cases have been terminated (either because indictments were withdrawn or because the accused died, before or after transfer to the Tribunal). As of November 2008, there were eight ongoing trials and a further four cases in the pre-trial stage. Ten further cases are at the appeals stage and two accused, Ratko Mladić and Goran Hadžić, are still at large.Calendar of court proceedings before the ICTY: Hague Justice Portal The figure of the accused at the appeals stage includes Sefer Halilović, Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu (who have been acquitted and released but against whom an appeal by the Office of the Prosecutor is running), as well as Amir Kubura and Naser Orić. These two accused have been sentenced and granted early release (Kubura) and release (Orić), but the OTP has appealed against the Trial Chamber's Judgements. A further 19 individuals have also been the subject of contempt proceedings.UN Site The indictees ranged from common soldiers and to generals and police commanders all the way to Prime Ministers. Slobodan Milošević was the first sitting head of state indicted for war crimes.ASIL.org Other "high level" indictees included Milan Babić, President of the Republika Srpska Krajina; Ramush Haradinaj, former Prime Minister of Kosovo; Radovan Karadžić, former President of the Republika Srpska; Ratko Mladić, former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army and Ante Gotovina, former General of the Croatian Army. Haradinaj's trial began at The Hague on March 5, 2007[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030100536.html Washington Post/Associated Press, Ex-Kosovo PM Pleads Innocent at Hague, March 1, 2007] and the closing brief was given on 23 January 2008.Closing Arguments in Haradinaj Trial The final decision of the ICTY was expected in March 2008. On 3 April 2008, ICTY issued a public notice of the Haradinaj verdict, in which he was acquitted of all charges. Main reason for Haradinaj's release was disappearance (most likely death) of witnesses. Hague court acquits Kosovo ex-PM from BBC News On July 31, 2008, Karadžić appeared in front of the judges of the tribunal for the first time in 13 years. Detention facilities Those defendants on trial and those who were denied a provisional release are detained at the United Nations Detention Unit on the premises of the Penitentiary Institution Haaglanden, location Scheveningen, located some 3 km by road from the courthouse. The indicted are housed in private cells which have a toilet, shower, radio, satellite TV and other comforts. They are allowed to phone family and friends daily and can have conjugal visits. There is also a library, a gym and various rooms used for religious observances. The inmates are allowed to cook for themselves. All of the inmates mix freely and are not segregated on the basis of nationality. Further reading *Ackerman, J.E. and O'Sullivan, E.: Practice and procedure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: with selected materials for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, The Hague, KLI, 2000. *Aldrich, G.H.: Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, American Journal of International Law, 1996, pp. 64-68. *Bassiouni, M.C.: The Law of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia, New York, Transnational Publications, 1996. *Boelaert-Suominen, S.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) anno 1999: its place in the international legal system, mandate and most notable jurisprudence, Polish Yearbook of International Law, 2001, pp. 95-155. *Boelaert-Suominen, S.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Kosovo Conflict, International Review of the Red Cross, 2000, pp. 217-251. *Cassese, Antonio: The ICTY: A Living and Vital Reality”, Journal of International Criminal Justice Vol.2, 2004, No.2, pp. 585-597 *Cisse, C.: The International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda: some elements of comparison, Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems, 1997, pp. 103-118. *Clark, R.S. and SANN, M.: A critical study of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, European Journal of International Law, 1997, pp. 198-200. *Goldstone, R.J.: Assessing the work of the United Nations war crimes tribunals, Stanford Journal of International Law, 1997, pp. 1-8. *Ivković, S.K.: Justice by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Stanford Journal of International Law, 2001, pp. 255-346. *Jones, J.W.R.D.: The practice of the international criminal tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, New York, Transnational, 2000. *Kaszubinski, M.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, in: Bassiouni, M.C. (ed.), Post-conflict justice, New York, Transnational, 2002, pp. 459-585. *Kerr, R.: International judicial intervention: the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, International Relations, 2000, pp. 17-26. *Kerr, R.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: an exercise in law, politics and diplomacy, Oxford, OUP, 2004. *King, F. and La Rosa, A.: Current Developments. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, B.T.I.R., 1997, pp. 533-555. *Klip, A. and Sluiter, G.: Annotated leading cases of international criminal tribunals; (Vol. III) The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia 2000-2001, Schoten, Intersentia, 2003. *Köchler, Hans: Global Justice or Global Revenge? International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads, Vienna/New York, Springer, 2003, pp. 166-184. *Kolb, R.: The jurisprudence of the Yugoslav and Rwandan Criminal Tribunals on their jurisdiction and on international crimes, British Yearbook of International Law, 2001, pp. 259-315. *Lamb, S.: The powers of arrest of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, British Yearbook of International Law, 2000, pp. 165-244. *Laughland, J.: Travesty: The Trial of Slobodan Milošević and the Corruption of International Justice, London, Pluto Press, 2007. *Lescure, K.: International justice for former Yugoslavia: the working of the International Criminal Tribunal of the Hague, The Hague, KLI, 1996. *McDonald, G.K.: Reflections on the contributions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, 2001, pp. 155-172. *Mettraux, G.: Crimes against humanity in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, Harvard International Law Journal, 2002, pp. 237-316. *Morris, V. and Scharf, M.P.: An insider's guide to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, African Yearbook of International Law, 1995, pp. 441-446. *Murphy, S.D.: Progress and jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, American Journal of International Law, 1999, pp. 57-96. *Panovsky, D.: Some war crimes are not better than others: the failure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to prosecute war crimes in Macedonia, Northwestern University Law Review, 2004, pp. 623-655. *Pilouras, S.: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and Milosevic's trial, New York Law School Journal of Human Rights, 2002, pp. 515-525. *Roberts, K.: The law of persecution before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Leiden Journal of International Law, 2002, pp. 623-663. *Robinson, P.L.: Ensuring fair and expeditious trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, European Journal of International Law, 2000, pp. 569-589. *Shenk, M.D.: International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, The International Lawyer, 1999, pp. 549-554. *Shraga, D. and Zackalin, R.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, European Journal of International Law, 1994, pp. 360-380. *Sjocrona, J.M.: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: some introductory remarks from a defence point of view, Leiden Journal of International Law, 1995, pp. 463-474. *Tolbert, David: The ICTY: Unforeseen Successes and Foreseeable Shortcomings, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Vol.26, No.2, Summer/Fall 2002, pp. 7-20 *Tolbert, David: Reflections on the ICTY Registry, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Vol.2, No.2, 2004, pp. 480-485 *Vierucci, L.: The First Steps of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, European Journal of International Law, 1995, pp. 134-143. *Warbrick, C. and McGoldrick, D.: Co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 1996, pp. 947-953. *Wilson, Richard Ashby: ‘Judging History: the Historical Record of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.’ Human Rights Quarterly. 2005. August. Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 908-942. See also * Arrest and prosecution of Radovan Karadžić * List of indictees of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia * Command responsibility * Global Justice or Global Revenge * International Criminal Court * International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda * Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts Project (RULAC) * State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina References External links * Official website of ICTY * International Progress Organization: Monitoring of the ICTY * Del Ponte, Carla (2003). The role of international criminal prosecutions in reconstructing divided communities, public lecture by Carla Del Ponte, Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, given at the London School of Economics, 20 October 2003. * Topical digests of the case law of ICTR and ICTY, Human Rights Watch, 2004 * Hague Justice Portal: Academic gateway to The Hague organisations concerning international peace, justice and security. * Calendar of court proceedings before the ICTY: Hague Justice Portal * Why Journalists Should be Worried by the Rwanda Tribunal Precedents (deals also with ICTY) by Thierry Cruvellier for Reporters Without Borders * SENSE News Agency, a special project based in ICTY Category:History of Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Yugoslavia International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia bs:Međunarodni krivični sud za bivšu Jugoslaviju bg:Международен наказателен трибунал за бивша Югославия ca:Tribunal Penal Internacional per a l'antiga Iugoslàvia cs:Mezinárodní trestní tribunál pro bývalou Jugoslávii da:Det internationale tribunal til pådømmelse af krigsforbrydelser i det tidligere Jugoslavien de:Internationaler Strafgerichtshof für das ehemalige Jugoslawien es:Tribunal Penal Internacional para la ex Yugoslavia eo:Internacia Pun-Tribunalo por Eksa Jugoslavio fr:Tribunal pénal international pour l'ex-Yougoslavie gl:Tribunal Penal Internacional para a ex Iugoslavia ko:구유고슬라비아 국제형사재판소 hr:Međunarodni sud za ratne zločine počinjene na području bivše Jugoslavije id:Pengadilan Internasional untuk Bekas Yugoslavia it:Tribunale Penale Internazionale per l'ex-Jugoslavia hu:Nemzetközi Törvényszék (Jugoszlávia) mk:Меѓународен кривичен суд за поранешна Југославија nl:Joegoslavië-tribunaal ja:旧ユーゴスラビア国際戦犯法廷 no:Det internasjonale krigsforbrytertribunalet for det tidligere Jugoslavia nn:Det internasjonale krigsforbrytartribunalet for det tidlegare Jugoslavia pl:Międzynarodowy Trybunał Karny dla byłej Jugosławii pt:Tribunal Penal Internacional para a antiga Jugoslávia ro:Tribunalul Penal Internaţional pentru fosta Iugoslavie ru:Международный трибунал по бывшей Югославии sk:Medzinárodný trestný tribunál pre bývalú Juhosláviu sl:Mednarodno sodišče za vojne zločine na območju nekdanje Jugoslavije sr:Међународни кривични суд за бившу Југославију sh:ICTY fi:Jugoslavia-tuomioistuin sv:Internationella krigsförbrytartribunalen för det forna Jugoslavien tr:Eski Yugoslavya Uluslararası Ceza Mahkemesi uk:Міжнародний трибунал по колишній Югославії zh:前南斯拉夫问题国际刑事法庭